Small Town Rumors(86)

She slapped him on the arm. “That’s not what I asked you.”

“Yes, dammit! It’s about the money. I won’t have people sayin’ that I’m a kept man.”

“Did I propose to you?” she asked.

“No, you did not,” he grumbled.

“Didn’t you hear the latest news? I’m selling everything and giving it to the poor and needy. I am keepin’ Mama’s car, because I need something to get around in since you are being so hateful and won’t give me rides in your truck. And I’m buying the five acres right behind that fence back there so I can build a small frame house just like I want.”

“You did what?” He raised his voice. “And you call me stupid? That land has no road access.”

“I’m going to come across your land,” she told him bluntly.

“The hell you are. I’m not signing an easement.”

“Your sister already said that she would, and it’s a done deal. And for your information, I’m mad at you,” she said. “Hell’s bells, Rick Lawson, you let me think we had the start of a good relationship, and then you dump me. I must be worth less than nothing. One man gets paid to marry me and still leaves me high and dry when the money runs out; the next one that comes into my life leads me on and then throws me out like yesterday’s newspaper because I have a little bit of money.” She stopped to take a breath and then went on. “Looks like I can’t win for losing. I’m leaving now. You can sit here in your self-pity and pout the rest of your life.”

She’d taken about a dozen steps when suddenly she was lifted off the ground in a swoop. The hot night air blew her hair back away from her face as she struggled to free herself.

“Put me down right now,” she screamed.

Her arms flailed against him, and when she could see his face, it was etched in stone. Finally, he dropped her right into the cold creek water. “That ought to cool you down.”

She reached out with one hand and grabbed his good leg and gave it a hard tug. He landed right beside her. “You’re the one who’s all hot under the collar. And you are a self-righteous hypocrite.”

“Oh, yeah, what makes me that horrible?” He pulled himself up on his elbow.

She splashed water in his face. “You’ve said at least twenty times since we’ve been friends that you don’t like gossip, and now here you are fighting against what we have because people might have something to say about it.”

He returned the favor, soaking what little dry threads were left on her shirt. She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him long and hard. And when that kiss ended, she shifted her weight until she was sitting in his lap.

“Did you really give all your money to a charity?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t. That’s just what we’re going to tell people.”

“Are you really going to buy that land and build a house?”

She nodded. “I can imagine my house sitting right back there, and it makes me happy. When I think of living anywhere else, I’m sad. Besides, from here, I can walk to the garden and not have to drive.”

He buried his face in her wet hair. “What if someday you have regrets?”

“I don’t think that day will ever come.” She snuggled down closer to his chest so she could listen to his steady heartbeat.



Cricket hit the “Snooze” button when the alarm went off. It was the day that she had to go to the doctor, and hopefully he’d give her a walking boot, and say that she could throw the crutches away. But the appointment wasn’t until ten o’clock, and she sure wasn’t looking forward to riding to Sweetwater and back with her moody brother.

When the alarm buzzed the second time, she put a pillow over her head and slapped it again. The third time, she threw the pillow across the room and turned it off. Jennie Sue had spent a long time with Rick at the creek the night before, so hopefully she’d gotten through to him on some level. If she hadn’t, Cricket hoped that she hadn’t mentioned the easement idea. That would be a huge sore spot.

“And I sure don’t want to be stuck in a truck with him all morning in that case,” Cricket mumbled as she headed toward the bathroom.

She was reaching for the knob when the door swung open, and there was Jennie Sue, wearing nothing but a towel around her body and a big smile on her face.

“Good mornin’, Cricket. When you get back from the doctor’s office, would you like for Rick to drop you at the bookstore? I could use the company,” she said.

Cricket was speechless until she heard her brother whistling in the bedroom down the hallway. In that moment, she didn’t care where Jennie Sue had slept the night before or what people would say about it. Rick only whistled or hummed when he was happy, and that was worth everything to her.

“I’d love to. Want me to bring some takeout Chinese from Sweetwater? I could pick it up after my appointment,” Cricket said.

“Sounds amazing.” Jennie Sue padded down the short hallway and closed Rick’s bedroom door behind her.

Brushing her teeth and putting her unruly hair into a ponytail wasn’t an easy feat while standing on one foot, but Cricket managed. When she finished, the aroma of coffee filled the whole house. She spent a little extra time getting dressed, halfway dreading the awkward moment when she made it to the kitchen. Would they be all lovey-dovey with each other, or would it be just winks and nudges? She finally headed that way, only to be surprised to find Rick alone when she arrived.